Fox Intl. First to Reach $1 Billion in 2013

Milestone marks the studio's 10th straight year, boosted by 'Pi' and local pics

Twentieth Century Fox Intl. is the first studio to reach $1 billion in overseas box office grosses so far this year, thanks to such pics as “Life of Pi” and “A Good Day to Die Hard,” as well as a burgeoning local-language film slate.

Fox Intl. has been the first studio to reach ten figures four times in the last five years, and has done so for the last 10 years consecutively.

This year marks the second-fastest year in which Fox has reached $1 billion internationally, after 2010, which had “Avatar.” So far, “Life of Pi” is Fox’s biggest contributor internationally in 2013, with $260 million. The film has grossed $485 million to date. “Die Hard,” meanwhile, contributed $235 million overseas, followed by “The Croods” ($225 million) and “Lincoln” ($110 million).

Fox’s slate of local-language films distributed overseas has earned approximately $110 million so far this year.

Up next for Fox, Blue Sky Animation’s “Epic” bows in mid-May, followed by other such summer tentpoles including DreamWorks Animation’s “Turbo” on July 17 and “The Wolverine” on July 26.